Re: [Elecraft_K3] OT: Ticks, Chiggers and Mosquitoes

Posted by Bill W4ZV on
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/OT-Ticks-Chiggers-and-Mosquitoes-tp7460945p7461169.html

w0mu wrote

You can find deet products over 90 percent at your sporting goods
store.    We use the potent stuff in Montana and the guides in Alaska
all recommend the highest percentage of deet you can find.

The problem with deet is that it has limited duration, and I really dislike putting chemicals on my skin.  I prefer Permethrin because you only treat your clothes once every 6 weeks.  However Deet is good for exposed skin such as hands and face so it can be selectively used effectively in combination with Permethrin:

Permethrin clothing treatments, when applied following Directions for Use, have been determined to have "spatial repellency" against mosquitoes. This means that mosquitoes will swarm around you, but not light on your treated clothing and bite. Also use an EPA registered repellent, such as the Sawyer microencapsulated Controlled Release 20-percent DEET, on all exposed skin for further protection from biting and blood sucking mosquitoes. The combination of Permethrin on clothing and DEET repellent on skin forms an "Insect Repellent System." When used as directed on the EPA registered labels, the Insect Repellent System will provide the best protection from biting, blood sucking and disease carrying insects. A well known study conducted by Tom Lillie, Carl Schreck and A. J. Rahe in Alaska in 1987, showed 99.9-percent effectiveness against mosquitoes biting at a rate of more than 1,100/hr. This protection is far greater than either a DEET based insect repellent or Permethrin can achieve alone.

73,  Bill